In Berlin's Schöneberg district, specifically around Nollendorfplatz, Motz- and Fuggerstraße, the lesbian-gay city festival is celebrated this weekend. But even otherwise, these streets are known for queer life. There are numerous bars, pubs, clubs, and shops for gay men. However, if you're looking for the same for lesbian women, you won't find any. Lesbian bars, pubs, and clubs are nowhere to be found.
This was different in the 1920s. At that time, Schöneberg had plenty of establishments for homosexual women, just as for men. In the former Luther, now Martin-Luther-Straße, Amalie Rothaug and Else Conrad operated the ladies' club "Monbijou des Westens" / "Mali und Igel". Two years ago, an initiative by the district council of Tempelhof-Schöneberg to honor Rothaug and Conrad with a "Mali und Igel Square" failed for formal reasons. A renewed initiative is still under consideration.
Back then, the Mickimaus Club, the Dorian Gray, and Café Violetta were located on Bülowstraße. In front of Bülowstraße 37, a commemorative plaque reminds of the Ballhaus Nationalhof, which was once important for the lesbian nightlife. It states: "In 1926, balls exclusively for ladies were held for the first time. In autumn 1927, a lesbian group called "Damen-Bif-Club," named after Selli Engler's successful magazine "Blätter idealer Frauenfreundschaft," met at the Nationalhof. From 1928 onwards, Charlotte Hahm, the director of the 400-member-strong Damenklub Violetta, successfully organized lesbian and transvestite balls."
During the Nazi era, there was a sudden end. The Nationalhof was revived after the war. But even in the 1970s and 1980s, when homosexual self-confidence was once again publicly visible, bars or a disco for lesbians were established. Not in the same numbers as venues for gay men, but they existed nonetheless. In 1972, the lesbian bar "pour elle" opened on Kalckreuthstraße. Later, the disco "die 2" on Martin-Luther-Straße and the café/restaurant Dinelo on Vorbergstraße became known as well.
"The Dinelo attracted lesbians living in Berlin or visiting the city in the 1980s, mainly for two reasons: it was one of the few places for women at that time that offered food, cooked by Chris Rieseberg (one of the founders, ed.) herself, and self-created, such as the Bäuerin-Omelette, either filled with tuna or feta cheese," writes historian Katja Koblitz from the Spinnboden Lesbenarchiv in an article about lesbian history in Berlin on the website of the Lesben und Alter association.
Most of these establishments disappeared by the late 1990s. The only one that remains is the Begine cultural center on Potsdamer Straße, which was occupied and refurbished by women/lesbians in the 1980s. Koblitz attributes the lack of lesbian pubs to the fact that these meeting places were not financially viable. Lesbian women are also more likely to be affected by precarious living conditions. "Many do not want or cannot take the risk," says Koblitz.
